The heads of top German automakers are meeting on Wednesday, at an emergency summit in Berlin called by the government, to discuss the future of diesel, clouded by the Volkswagen scandal.

According to Bloomberg, Volkswagen, Daimler and BMW CEOs will meet ministers and state leaders to win political support to avoid driving bans in exchange for further upgrades to existing vehicles to lower their pollution.

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Bloomberg said the German automakers need diesel as interim technology to buy time to catch up with EVs from the likes of Tesla, which has just launched its new, lower-cost Model 3 and Nissan which has a redesigned Leaf close to launch. Meanwhile, German chancellor Angela Merkel, facing a federal election in two months, faces criticism her government is too lenient on carmakers, not least because automakers and associated industries employ 800,000 people.

"The manufacturers will play their part to improve air quality in cities and make diesel fit for the future," Matthias Wissmann, head of VDA, which proposes at least an average 25% reduction in NOx emissions, told Bloomberg. "Diesel is enormously important for climate protection as well as prosperity in Germany."

The report said the two sides were expected to agree to numerous measures to lower emissions NOx emissions in Germany's 15m diesel vehicles.

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Software updates costing several hundred million euros and much more expensive hardware changes which would lift the total bill to around EUR5bn (US$5.9bn), much of which would be paid by the companies.

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"I think this is a result that is achievable today because everyone knows that it will otherwise be legally enforced, so this part is clear," Armin Laschet, premier of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and member of Merkel's party, said on ZDF television on Wednesday, when asked if carmakers will bear the full cost of diesel modifications.

Diesels accounted for 46% of cars sold in Germany last year, Bloomberg noted.